Confessions of a grey-headed reporter

Daily Archives: September 29, 2008

The AJC reports that Creative Loafing has filed for bankruptcy. “CEO Ben Eason said the filing would help the chain improve its online business while it reorganizes its operations,” writes the AJC.

Fresh Loaf has been linking to other blogs that predict trouble for other prominent free weeklies, including layoffs at the Village Voice. But staff in Atlanta has no worries, or so says the CEO:

“The bankruptcy petition was filed in Tampa, where the company’s based, and was timed to preclude an interest payment that was owed lenders on Wednesday.

The company will ask federal bankruptcy Judge Caryl Delano to stay any attempt by creditors to liquidate the assets or take control of the company.

“We’re doing the right things,” Eason said. “This will give us a fresh start. It is a reorganization, not a liquidation. Everybody gets paid.”

The debt load was substantially increased last year when Creative Loafing purchased the Chicago Reader and the Washington City Paper. Since then, advertising revenues for the print editions of the papers has deteriorated, as they have for newspapers nationwide. Over the same period last year, revenues were down between 10 and 15 percent.

The Loaf’s creditors include the Georgia Department of Revenue and the company that prints its papers.

… and WAGA devoted seven minutes of its evening news to an apartment fire.

The Calibre Springs apartments in Sandy Springs had the peculiar timing to go up in flames in the middle of the 5pm newscast.

WSB appeared to arrive on-scene first. Its helicopter had the better angle. WSB also used better judgment, taking two quick sixty-second hits from its chopper guy Jason Durden at 5. WAGA got on the air about a minute after WSB did, and overcompensated for its so-slight tardiness:

WAGA did three live hits of coverage during the 5pm news, lasting three minutes, 2:45 and forty seconds. There was one more :40 taped anchor v/o at six.

We heard the word “flames” thirteen times.

We heard the word “smoke” ten times.

We heard the word “water” nine times.

We heard the phrase “as you can see” or variations thereof fifteen times.

WAGA, and to a lesser extent WSB, couldn’t resist the candy. Neither could we:

There were no injuries reported. It appeared neither station deigned the story important enough for nightside coverage.

Is it news when an apartment bursts into flames? Yes, but not seven-plus minutes worth. Truth is, it’s kinda fun to watch a building burn to the ground. Those running the newsroom know that eyeballs are not likely to stray to the kitchen (or another station) when it’s showing flames and a “live” super. It plays to the cheap seats, occupied by precious viewers of local TV news.

Our favorite part is the exasperation in Russ Spencer’s voice during the final 6pm hit. We’d like to believe it’s rooted in Spencer himself wondering: “Shouldn’t we use this time for a different story?”